MPD: Woman forced into woods by boyfriend

MURFREESBORO — A domestic violence encounter escalated around 9:45 Monday night for a Murfreesboro woman, who was trying to flee her boyfriend, according to a police report provided to The Daily News Journal.

The 22-year-old victim fled the scene but was caught by her boyfriend, James Elliot Beard, and thrown into a shed, the incident report by responding officer Westley Hall said.

The victim had been able to text for help to her mother, who notified police, Hall reported. The victim told her mother that Beard, 28, of Given Court, was “drunk and threatening her.”

She begged her mother to come get her while he was out of the victim's house. Just as the mother was about to arrive, she received another text from her daughter that said she had run behind the house and was unable to tell the location because Beard said he would kill her, Hall reported.

Hall reported observing those texts.

Sgt. James Baskett found the victim and the suspect in a small shed near Murfreesboro Little Theater on Ewing Boulevard, according to the report. Officers detained Beard and interviewed the victim.

The victim told the officers she had run, but Beard caught her in the Cross Court Complex and grabbed her by the back of the neck, Hall reported.

Taking her into the woods, Beard told her he had a gun and if she told her mother where she was, he would kill her. He then motioned at his hip to imply the gun was there, according to the police report.

After he entered the shed near MLT where she was being held against her will, the victim was able to text that location to her mother. Then Beard shoved her to the ground, took her phone and threw it against a tree, the victim told police.

Beard, who has a prior domestic assault conviction, was charged with aggravated domestic assault, aggravated kidnapping, preventing 9-1-1, and a local violation of probation warrant. Bond was set at $43,000.

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